Aculeates are part of the vast insect order, the Hymenoptera. The defining feature of all aculeates is that the egg-laying ovipositor is modified to form a sting. The majority of species hide their larva and their food provisions in safe retreats.
In Britain there are around 590 species of aculeates. These include ants, bees and wasps. Aculeate life histories are many and varied.
Above: A tiny parasitoid wasp, Gonatopus clavipes.
Photo: Jelle Devalez
You can read about, and view… Read more
The spreadsheet that you can download here contains a list of British and Irish aculeates used by BWARS. This is a list of species and their names, recognised as being present in Great Britain and Ireland, drawn from work being undertaken by Gavin Broad (Natural History Museum), Barry Bolton, George Else, John Burn, Mike Edwards and Rowan Edwards. The list contains our best understanding of accepted names for species (species concepts), although in a few cases some confusion around names remains.
As research and knowledge concerning aculeates progresses, so too does the need to… Read more
This is a place for any notes and observations relating to bees wasps and ants. Often, casual observations can be important in building up our knowledge of how aculeates behave, but all too frequently such observations are not recorded or collated. This leads to much valuable information being lost. The aim of this section is to build up a repository of casual observations of behaviour, which researchers can refer to when seeking information about aculeates.
Many of these notes were picked out from correspondence on the BWARS Forum. In addition BWARS also welcomes any notes you may… Read more
Britain - Steven Falk's Review of the Scarce and Threatened Bees, Wasp and Ants of Great Britain, published in 1991, and long out of print, may be available as a pdf online.
East Sussex - A Survey of the Bees and Wasps of fifteen Chalk Grassland Sites within the East Sussex Downs. This is an extensive report on this area by Steven Falk (2011).
There is some taxonomic uncertainty regarding this, and other, Spilomena species. Research for this Atlas suggests that BWARS initially took an outdated stance in considering this species to be distinct from Spilomena vagans Blüthgen (as per Richards, 1980 and Lomholdt, 1984). Dollfuss (1991), Falk (1991), Vikberg (2000) and Bitsch et al. (2001) all consider the two taxa to be one species: Spilomena troglodytes. This view is also being taken by the UK Species Inventory and implemented by the NBN Gateway. It is now accepted that Spilomena vagans is a… Read more
As one of the more recently defined taxa (Blüthgen, 1953) this species has rather more taxonomic stability than other species within the genus.
Previously regarded as a synonym for S.curraca, but Vikberg's 2000 treatment restores S. differens as a valid species (see Identification below)
Priocnemis hyalinata is one of two species of Priocnemis sens. str. which have an enlarged inner tooth on the tarsal claw. Females have the usual red and black pattern and are distinguished from the other species, fennica Haupt, by having shorter, thicker antennae. Males are black, often with some red on the second tergite, and usually with some red on the legs. They are most reliably determined by the internal genitalia which should be fully extracted.
Priocnemis fennica was only relatively recently recognised as British (Day, 1979) and older… Read more
A medium-sized, black and red species. In the female the clear window in the otherwise infuscate wing-tip, usually characteristic of its subgenus, is absent or poorly developed. The male subgenital plate is fairly distinctive, but must be extruded fully.
This species reproduces by thelytokous parthenogenesis and so all individuals are female (Wahis & Durand, 2004). References to the male are based on misidentifications. The female is a rather large, black wasp with strongly bifasciate wings and thus superficially resembles a Dipogon species. However, the hind tibia has the pronounced scale-like teeth typical of Priocnemis.
